After about a decade of slow but steady growth, The Dalles continues to pursue a balanced model of development: gentrifying the area’s downtown with wine bars, cafés and streetscape improvements while also preserving industrial land necessary to attract employment.

Environmental officials are quick to assert that Oregon’s most expensive publicly funded cleanup is not failing from an environmental perspective. But from a real estate perspective, the $55 million cleanup of the former McCormick & Baxter creosote factory in North Portland has created complications.

Bob and Kerrie Tucker expanded their precision metal shop, MAK Metals, from 6,000 to 30,000 square feet as the recession spread in 2008. They launched their first consumer product, MAK grills, in July 2009. Next they had to convince people to spend $2,000 on a barbecue in a terrible economy. It worked.

Pendleton Woolen Mills launches its Portland Collection in September. The Oregon business is steeped in tradition and rich in heritage but for decades their clothes missed the mark with fashion-conscious consumers.